Fleming Rutledge is a preacher and teacher known throughout the US, Canada, and parts of the UK. She is the author of eight books, all from Eerdmans Publishing. Her most recent book, The Crucifixion: Understanding the Death of Jesus Christ, is the product of the work of a lifetime and is being described as a new classic on the subject.

One of the first women to be ordained to the priesthood of the Episcopal Church, she served for fourteen years on the clergy staff at Grace Church on Lower Broadway at Tenth Street, New York City.

Fleming and her husband celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2009 and have two daughters and two grandchildren. She is a native of Franklin, Virginia.

Ruminations: Ruth Gledhill in the Times of London

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Ruth Gledhill in the Times of London

I have been reading articles by Ruth Gledhill, religion correspondent of the Times Online (and the paper too, presumably), for several years now and she seems to me to be quite knowledgeable.

A March 9 piece offers some good words from Rowan Williams. He is much criticised from both ends of the spectrum for his lack of leadership skills, but he certainly is intelligently thoughtful and deeply faithful. Here is an excerpt:

The Archbishop of Canterbury has condemned evangelist "bullies" who attempt to convert people of other faiths to Christianity. Dr Rowan Williams said it was right to be suspicious of proselytism that involves "bullying, insensitive approaches" to other faiths.

In a speech at Guildford cathedral, Dr Williams criticised those who believed they had all the answers amd treated non-Christians as if their traditions of reflection and imagination were of no interest to anyone. "God save us from that kind of approach," he said.

But he added: "God save us also from the nervousness about our own conviction that doesn’t allow us to say we speak about Jesus because we believe he matters. We believe he matters, because we believe that in him human beings find their peace, their destinies converge, and their dignities are fully honoured."

[We believe more than this about Jesus, of course, and Dr. Williams would be the first to agree. But this is in the context of trying to find an approach that is really universal without yielding our foundational Christology.]